Screen.



PATENTED MAR. 14., 1905.

J. W. MYERS.

SCREEN.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.11. 1903. EENEWBD NOV. 10,1904.

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No. 784.584. y PATENTED MAR. 14, 1905.

J. W. MYERS.

SCREEN.

APPLIOATION FILED 313.11. 190s. BENBWBD Nov. 10,1904.

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Patented March 14, 1905.

JOHN WV. MYERS, OF JOHNSTOIVN, PENNSYLVANIA.

SCREEN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 784,584, dated March 14, 1905.

Application filed February 11, 1903. Renewed November l0, 1904. Serial No. 232,133.

To (1J/Z whoml it 77pm/ concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN IV. MYERS, of'` Johnstown, in the county of Cambria and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Screens, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form apart of this specification.

My invention has relation to certain new and useful improvements in screens for use in screening clay, coal, gravel, and other substances. In the use of' screens of this character as heretofore constructed the eiiciency and capacity have been very largely decreased by reason of thetendency of the screen to become choked or clogged by the material being screened and more er less manual effort is constantly required to keep them in working condition.

The main object of' my invention is to provide a screen which is designed to be perfectly self-cleaning in its operation, thereby making it possible to dispense with attendance for this purpose and also making it possible to reduce very largely the size of the screen for any given capacity.

A further object of the invention is to provide a screen of this character which shall be comparatively simple and inexpensive to construct and repair.

lVith these objects in view my invention consists, broadly, in the combination, with a screen composed of a series of parallel screening members-such as wires, rods, or bars of any suitable eross-section-ofl a cleaning device having' fingers, teeth, or projections extending between the said members from the under side and means for actuating said device to cause the -said lingers, teeth, or projections to move back and forth between the said members, and thereby constantly keep clear the openings or spaces between them in the manner hereinafter described and claimed. Thiscleaning device is capable of various constructions and modifications; but in the preferred form of my invention it consists in a series of connected parallel transverse rolls journaled in wheels arranged to travel on suitable tracks, with means for reciprocating the same, each roll having a series of circumferential grooves through which the screening members in the form of' wires or rods are stretched, the spaces between the said grooves forming ribs or flanges which extend up between the wires or rods. As the series of' rolls is reciprocated these ribs or flanges roll between the wires or rods and ef'- fectually free them of any clogging or choking substance as well as keeping them properly spaced. By making the grooves sufiiciently deep to cause the ribs or flanges to extend somewhat beyond the upper surfaces of' the wires or rods the clay or other material being screened is also kept in a loose or f'ree condition on the surface of' the screen. Instead of rolls I may, however, employ any other suitable arrangement of movable members or bars having teeth or projections extending between the screening members.

My invention also consists in certain novel features of' construction, arrangement, and combinations of parts, all substantiall y as hereinafter described, and pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had tothe accompanying' drawings, in which- Figure l is a plan view of a screen embodying my invention, the screen proper being, however, largely broken away. Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2 Q. of' Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a transverse section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, but on a larger scale; Fig. 4, a detail View showing the roll connections; Fig. 5, a view of a modified form of cleaning member, and Fig. 6 a detail end view of another modification of the cleaning device. Fig. 7 is a detail view on a larger scale.

The letter A designates the screen-frame, the side portions of which may be conveniently formed of channel-plates, as shown.

B is the head or feed board, and C the foot or tail board.

D designates transverse parallel rolls whose ends are loosely journaled in wheels E, which are arranged to travel on tracks E', secured to the web portions of' the side frames. Each of these rolls is formed with a series of circumferential grooves separated from each other by the ribs or flanges e.

F designates connecting bars or straps for IOC the several rolls provided with boxes FQ removably secured thereto and in which the roll-journals have bearings.

G designates the screening me1nbers,which in the construction shown consist of parallel longitudinal wires stretched tightly overthe series of grooved rolls E and secured at their ends to tightening pins or pegs g. The latter are set in oblique parallel rows and are so spaced and arranged that all of the wires are of equal length and are without interference with each other, as shown in Fig'. l. In order to facilitate stretching these wires tightly over the rolls, the latter instead of being all journaled in the same horizontal planeare so arranged thatV the central rolls are higher than the end rolls, as shown in Fig. 2, the connecting-bars F and the tracksv E having a correspending arch. The cleaning devices are in this manner made to support and space the screening members. This is important, especially where such members are of slender form,since otherwise they would sag to such an extent as seriously to interfere with the operation of the screen. Furthermore,owing to the somewhat unequal distribution of the material upon the screen which necessarily occurs and to the fact that some ofthe screening members will necessarily have more slack than others unless they were supported in this manner some of them would sag to a greater extent than others, thus leaving spaces between adjacent members through which the material could escape without receiving the necessary screening action; but by placing the cleaning devices a short distance apart and stretching the wires upon them the latter are held in the same plane and properly spaced. The journal portions of one of the rolls are extended through slots in the side frames for connection with pitmen H, whose opposite ends are connected to wrist-pins /L of large crank-wheels I, carried byadriven shaft J. One of the wheels I is shown as having a beveled rim-gear I', driven by a bevel gearpinion I2 on a shaft I3, actuated by worm gear- I. Any other form of slow-motion drivinggear may, however, be employed for the purpose of reciprocating the series of rolls. The stroke of the pitmen H should be equal to or a little greater than the distance between the centers of adjacent rolls-in order that the entire surface of the screen may be traversed during their movement.

The particular construction of screen shown in the drawings is especially adapted for use in screening clay in the manufacture of bricks or for other purposes as it comes from the dry-pans, and for this purpose the wires G are spaced about one -sixteenth of an inch apart.

In use the screen is inclined at an angle of from thirty-ve degrees to forty degrees. Clay is delivered onto the feed-board B and falls by gravity onto the wires G. The series of rolls is constantly reciprocated with aslow movement, and the ribs or flanges e act as teeth or lingers, which in moving and turning between the wires effectually free them of any clogging or choking material and also keep the material in a light and free condition where it rests on the wires. The screened clay falls out of the discharge-opening at K, (or it may be permitted to fall directly through the screen into bins or other receptacles,) while the tailings pass off over the tail-board C. Should one or more of the wires G break at any time, they can be quickly and readily replaced, thus making the screen easy and comparatively inex pensive to repair.

The rolls being loosely journaled in the wheels E and boxes F/ will under the friction of the wires turn in the opposite direction to the wheels E as they are reciprocated, thus reducing the friction to a minimum and also facilitating the cleaning action. As above stated, I may employ a series of transverse bars L, Fig. 5, in lieu of the rolls, said bars having pins or teeth Z extending between the wires. The rolls are preferable, however, not only because they work with less friction, but also because they present a greater and constantly-changing wearing-surface to the wires. I may also employ a combination of grooved rolls and toothed bars, as shown in Fig. 6.

The' teeth or fingers in whatever form employed should extend but slightly above-the upper surface of the screening members, as it is not intended that they shall move to any extent the material resting on said members, but that they shall simply keep the lower sur-k face of such material in afree or loose condition.

For screening clay as it comes from the banks or for screening coal wires of larger cross-section or rods or strips of any suitable cross-section may be employed. When the rods or strips employed are of sufficient rigidity to enable them to be'fastened properly in place without stretching them, Vthe arched arrangement of the cleaning device maybe omitted.

Screens constructed and operated as above described may be operated without attendance for the purpose of keeping them clear, and their screening area for a given capacity may be made very much less than that of the screens heretofore used.

It is obvious that the invention is susceptible of various modifications in addition to those herein described and that various changes may be made in the details of construction and arrangement without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as defined in and by the following claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- V l. The combination withascreen composed of a plurality of parallel screening members and supports to which the end portions of said members are attached,` of a number of transversely-arranged cleaning devices below the said screen and having projections extending upwardly between the said members, said members being positively supported by said devices between the said projections, whereby they are held in the same horizontal plane and are prevented from sagging under the weight of the material being screened.

2. A screen composed of a plurality of spaced parallel rodsor wires and end supports to which said rods or wires are attached, in combination with cleaning' devices consisting of grooved or corrugated rolls which carry said rods or wires, means for reciprocating' said rolls, and means for causing them to rotate in a reverse direction as they are reciproeated. g

3. A screen composed of a plurality of parallel rods or wires, in combination with a number of cireumferentially grooved rolls arranged transversely underneath the said rods or w-ires and in Jrictional engagement therewith, wheels in which said rolls are loosely journaled, tracks or guides for the said wheels, and means for reciprocating said rolls.

V4:. Ascreen composed of a number-of spaced parallel members and in combination therewith, a cleaning device consisting of a num-f ber of corrugated rotatable rolls whose corrugations extend between said members from the under side thereof, means for reciprocating said rolls, and means for rotating them in a reverse direction as they are reeiprocated.

5. In a screen, the combination with a frame having lateral trackways arranged in curved planes, highest at their central portions, a series of transverse cleaning members mounted for reciprocation on said trackways, and the screen proper, consisting of a plurality of wires stretched tightly over the said cleaning 

